LEGO is enjoying a renaissance thanks in part to "The LEGO Movie." However, LEGO artists like Nathan Sawaya and Mike Doyle have been creating museum-quality artwork with these plastic bricks for over a decade. Now they're sharing their secrets in "The Art of LEGO Design" (http://tinyurl.com/pncypgc) from No Starch Press (US$24.95).

In the 288-page book LEGO artist Jordan Schwartz delves into the building techniques of the LEGO masters and, with the aid of hundreds of color photos, shows us how it all works. Readers learn to think like the masters too, through interviews with 13 LEGO builders. "The Art Of LEGO Design" shows readers how to:

° Create lifelike creatures using ordinary elements in unusual ways — like inside-out tires for the legs of an octopus or minifigure capes for an owl;

° Design sleek cars with smooth sides and no exposed studs on their bricks
° Add realism to dioramas with light bricks or LEDs;

° Create real world textures like cobblestone roads and brick walls.